Cancer is the top often leading causes of death in Taiwan. Almost all cancers can become metastatic tumors, and once distant metastasis occurs, cancer cells will disseminate into every part of the body, decreasing cure rate. Cancer cell metastasis is one of the main causes which leads to cancer recurrence and death of cancer patients. Metastasis begins when the adhesion between a cellular matrix and an extracellular matrix changes, the interaction force between cells is destructed, the extracellular matrix is decomposed, and then cancer cells penetrate into the extracellular matrix, invade into blood vessels and lymph vessels of the circulatory system, escape from the immune system, attach to endothelial cells, penetrate through blood vessels and lymph vessels into new tissues and organs, multiply and induce angiogenesis massively. Cancer cells deprive normal tissues and organs of nutrients by newly formed blood vessels causing normal tissues and organs to waste away and ultimately death of cancer patients.
In other words, angiogenesis occurs when tumors produce pro-angiogenic growth factors which induce the formation of new blood vessels, stimulate endothelial cells of blood vessels to undergo angiogenesis, and newly formed blood vessels bring nutrition and oxygen necessary for tumor growth. Over the last few decades, many human and animal researches have confirmed that tumor growth and migration depend on angiogenesis. Therefore, when metastasis and invasion of cancer cells into the circulatory system are inhibited, the death rate of cancer patients due to metastasis is likely to be decreased. The present invention provides a method for adjunctive treatment of cancers by using a Lycogen composition in anticancer drugs to inhibit metastasis.
Previous researches carried out by the inventors suggest that Lycogen can significantly inhibit the secretion of intracellular matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2). MMP is closely related to angiogenesis of endothelial cells of blood vessels and is the primary component for the formation of new blood vessels in endothelial cells. The main function of MMP includes assisting the migration of endothelial cells and degrading intercellular matrix for the formation of new blood vessels. MMP-2 and MMP-9 are capable of degrading basement membrane matrix type V collagens, which are most closely related to angiogenesis and metastasis. Also, angiogenesis plays an important role in the process of metastasis. Therefore, it is worth to study whether Lycogen inhibits angiogenesis. The present invention further confirms a synergistic effect between the Lycogen and anticancer drugs to inhibit MMP activity and secretion, thereby having adjunctive effects on anticancer drugs.